Rotary storage cabinets for storing various articles are known. Commonly such storage cabinets are provided with shelves for filing of office records. They may, however, also be used for the storage of other materials such as books, computer tapes or discs, music tapes or discs, for the display of articles for sale, clothing lockers, and numerous other items. In one such rotary storage cabinet the rotor that rotates within the outer housing has four sides any one of which may be presented to the open side of the housing. The open side of the housing may or may not have a door or doors.
In another such rotary storage cabinet it is known to provide the rotor with two sets of shelves arranged at 180.degree. with respect to each other with the other two sides of the four sided rotor being positionable to close the opening in the housing. In this construction no door is required in the housing. This construction also lends itself to accessability from two opposite sides by providing that the housing has openings in two opposite sides. In this latter construction the rotor may be rotated to present a closure door to both openings simultaneously or, upon rotation of 90.degree. the shelves may be presented to the two openings simultaneously. The present invention is directed to this latter type of rotary storage cabinet.
In rotary storage cabinets of the type to which the present invention is directed there are a number of problems in manufacture, shipping, sales and assembly. Among these problems is the fact that these cabinets tend to be quite large and if shipped fully assembled the transportation costs are excessive since a considerable quantity of empty space is being shipped as well. As a result such cabinets are generally shipped in knocked down form with the same being assembled either by the manufacturer's representative or by the purchaser on the premises where it is to be used. Since the assemblers in such a circumstance are generally not skilled it is necessary that the units be so designed as to be assembled readily with hand tools while at the same time insuring adequate strength and maintenance of shape through sufficient rigidity. At the same time, the less material utilized in the entire unit the more economy both with respect to raw material and labor that may be achieved in the manufacture of the product.
Often in attempting to resolve these problems it occurs that resolution or improvement of one problem results in the aggravation of another problem. The larger the parts assembled in the factory and shipped, then the simpler the assembly on site and the more certainty there is that the structure will be properly assembled, strong and stable. At the same time, however, the larger the assembly in the plant the more difficult and larger the packaging and the more costly the transportation. At the same time, as well, the cost of in plant assembly of sub-units increases the cost of the unit as compared with shipment of individual parts which are then assembled essentially without cost by the purchaser or representative.
Still further, it is desirable that the units be modular in construction in order to permit the addition of additional units integrated with the original unit or units in order to save space and in order to provide an extended line of such cabinets. Frequently such cabinets are utilized as room dividers and the modular construction lends itself well to this use while permitting individuals positioned on both sides of the room divider to have access to the files.